Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000903
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01:01 Good morning and happy Sabbath.
01:04 It's worship time 01:05 at the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:07 the little church by the side of the road. 01:10 And I'm gonna ask to stand if we just now as we sing 01:12 what is going to be our theme song 01:15 for these very special meetings. 01:18 It Took a Miracle, 01:19 it's found as 111 in your church hymn note. 01:23 Shall we sing together, It Took a Miracle? 01:26 My Father is omnipotent 01:30 And that you can't deny 01:33 A God of might and miracles 01:38 'Tis written in the sky 01:43 It took a miracle 01:48 To put the stars in place 01:53 It took a miracle 01:57 To hang the world in space 02:02 But when He saved my soul 02:07 Cleansed and made me whole 02:13 It took a miracle 02:17 Of love and grace 02:24 Though here His glory has been shown 02:28 We still can't fully see 02:32 The wonders of His might His throne 02:37 'Twill take eternity 02:41 It took a miracle 02:42 It took a miracle 02:47 To put the stars in place 02:52 It took a miracle 02:56 To hang the world in space 03:01 But when He saved my soul 03:06 Cleansed and made me whole 03:12 It took a miracle 03:16 Of love and grace! 03:20 Now that first stanza singing together. 03:22 The Bible tells us of His power 03:27 And wisdom all way through 03:31 And every little bird and flower 03:36 Are testimonies too 03:41 It took a miracle 03:46 To put the stars in place 03:51 It took a miracle 03:55 To hang the world in space 04:00 But when He saved my soul 04:05 Cleansed and made me whole 04:11 It took a miracle 04:15 Of love and grace 04:22 Amen, well done. 04:23 Please be seated and thank you so very much. 04:25 Praise team. 04:28 Again we want to take this opportunity 04:29 to welcome you to a very special series 04:32 of meetings that we have dubbed, 04:34 where are all His miracles 04:37 and during the next several evening 04:39 we are gonna be talking about, the who? 04:41 The what? The where? The when? 04:43 The why of miracles and affirming 04:45 that the God who worked miracle back in Bible days 04:48 is still the same working miracle working God today. 04:52 That there are miracles in our lives, 04:54 miracles all around us, 04:55 indeed this very ministry is a miracle 04:58 from the hand of God, 04:59 and we're going to reaffirm that fact 05:01 during the next several meetings. 05:04 Our kick off speaker is of course 05:05 our Pastor John Lomacang, but we've got a line up 05:08 of very special anointed men and women 05:11 and pastor will you a little bit 05:12 more about that in just a little bit. 05:14 Who will be preaching the word of God 05:16 and letting us to know once again reaffirming for us 05:19 that we are in a miracle working time, 05:22 serving a miracle working God. 05:26 Dare I say, we ain't seen nothing yet, 05:28 because God has got 05:30 some wonderful things in store for us, 05:32 and we are going to be experiencing them 05:34 not only during these meetings but throughout our days 05:37 until Jesus comes to take us from labor to reward. 05:40 And we have the promise that, 05:42 that day is not far in the future. 05:45 Let's bow our heads for prayer. 05:47 Heavenly Father, we love You and praise You 05:49 and thank You for Your presence and Your power. 05:53 We thank Thee that our end is but Your beginning, 05:57 that You're indeed a God of miracles, 06:00 giving our hearts to the Lord is a miracle. 06:03 Waking up this day to praise You is a miracle, 06:05 but more than that, there are miracles that 06:09 we have yet to see as You close up this work 06:14 and prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ. 06:16 And so, Father, we ask that Your presence 06:18 and power may be felt in this place on this occasion, 06:22 that has we worshiped You, You may expect our worship 06:26 and in exchange for our prayer and praise, 06:29 please Lord give us Your presence and blessing. 06:33 We love You, we praise You and we thank You 06:35 for the millions around the world, 06:38 who joined us this day, in praising Your name. 06:41 We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. 06:46 Our scripture reading is coming to us 06:48 from Elder Greg Morikone, an Elder here 06:50 at the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church. 06:57 Good morning. Good morning. 06:58 Happy Sabbath to you. 07:01 Our scripture reading this morning 07:02 is coming from Judges. 07:04 Judges 6:11-14 and kind of shame on me, 07:08 I don't read from Judges that often. 07:10 When pastor gave this text 07:11 as scripture reading, it's a great text, 07:12 it's actually the call of Gideon, 07:15 so Judges 6:11-14 and I'm going to be reading 07:18 from the New King James version of the Bible. 07:23 "Now the Angel of the Lord came 07:25 and sat under the terebinth tree 07:27 which was in Ophrah, 07:29 which belonged to Joash and Abiezrite, 07:32 while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, 07:35 in order to hide it from the Midianites. 07:37 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, 07:39 and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, 07:41 you mighty man of valor!' 07:43 Gideon said to Him, 'O my lord, 07:45 if the Lord is with us, 07:47 why then has all this happened to us? 07:49 And where are all His miracles 07:51 which our fathers told us about, saying, 07:54 did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? 07:56 But now the Lord has forsaken us 07:58 and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.' 08:01 Then the Lord turned to him and said, 08:04 'Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel 08:07 from the band of the Midianites. 08:09 Have not I sent you?'" Amen. 08:16 Amen. Thank you so very much, Greg. 08:20 As we have mentioned, 08:22 this is gonna be a powerful series of meetings 08:24 and we want you to plan to be with us throughout them all. 08:29 Our speaker of course is no stranger to us, 08:31 he is the pastor of this church, 08:33 Pastor John Lomacang. 08:35 And he will lead off 08:37 as we talk about miracles on this day, 08:39 and so after the meditation number 08:41 the next voice you will hear will be that of our pastor, 08:44 our friend Pastor John Lomacang. 08:46 But before that, 08:47 I get the opportunity to sing with the Shelton family. 08:50 It is my privilege to sing with them. 08:53 This is the song that actually got me my job here at 3ABN. 08:57 And that is the long story that 08:59 we don't have time to go into just now. 09:01 But it's a very beautiful song, 09:03 I know the Plans and truly God knows the plans 09:06 that He has for each of us. 09:08 They are plans to prosper us, 09:09 plans for success, plans for salvation 09:13 and if we will but cooperate with Him, 09:15 we know that the victory has already been won. 09:38 I know with missing wholeness 09:41 The darkness closes in 09:45 You turn and you weary 09:48 As you look at where you've been 09:52 You can't see Me on the present 09:55 When you're looking at the past 09:59 You thought things would turn out differently 10:02 Then you hear God say at last 10:06 I know the plans I have for you 10:14 And they are plans to prosper you 10:21 To give you hope and a future 10:25 Lead you on life's journey 10:29 Call on Me and I will see you through 10:34 I know the plans I have for you 10:46 The rock sink cliffs may leave some scars 10:49 You thought too deep to heal 10:53 You're desperate and you're broken 10:56 And life seems all too real 11:00 The road may take you on a path 11:03 That changes all your plans 11:07 Now that's when God takes over 11:10 And says leave it in My hand 11:14 I know the plans I have for you 11:22 And they are plans to prosper you 11:29 To give you hope and a future 11:33 Lead you on life's journey 11:37 Call on Me and I will see you through 11:42 I know the plans I have for you 11:50 And though your dreams may have died 11:54 You're hurting inside 11:58 God has something better for you 12:03 And He knows the plans He has for you 12:11 And they are plans to prosper you 12:17 To give you hope and a future 12:22 Lead you on life's journey 12:26 Call on Him and He will see you through 12:31 God knows the plans He has for you 12:56 Amen. Amen. 13:03 Amen, that message is always true. 13:07 God knows the plans, He has for each of us. 13:11 We like to once again welcome those who are joining us, 13:14 either satellite, computer, local television, 13:16 over the radio, the internet 13:19 and we want to welcome you once again 13:20 to the series entitled 'Where Are All His Miracles.' 13:23 Now before I even open the word of God 13:25 and go before the Lord, I always ask the Lord 13:27 to do something in me and through me, 13:29 what I cannot do for myself, 13:30 so I would like to invite you to bow your heads 13:33 and pray with me this morning. 13:35 Heavenly Father, thank You for the fact that 13:38 the greatest miracle is a transformed life. 13:43 We pray today as we consider this message 13:46 that calls us to ask the age old question 13:50 that we will find that no matter what the question is, 13:53 the answer is still Jesus. 13:56 So guide us as we walk through Your word 13:59 in Jesus' name we pray. 14:01 Amen. 14:03 If you have your Bibles with you today, 14:04 those of you who are joining us, 14:06 we would like to encourage you to turn to the Book of Judges. 14:09 There is something about that name 14:10 that kind of frightens you. 14:12 Judges, if you had a speeding ticket 14:15 before you don't want to hear judges. 14:18 If you've ever done something wrong 14:21 that you know was wrong, 14:23 you don't want to appear before the judges. 14:26 Thus the Book of Judges is a book 14:28 exactly with that theme in mind. 14:31 Israel arrived at the place where God needed 14:36 to step in as their judge and get them back on track. 14:39 I'm so glad this morning to know 14:41 that whenever we are off track, 14:43 God knows how to get us back on track. 14:46 He calls us, not as vengeful a Judge, 14:50 but as a loving Judge leading us back. 14:53 And we have arrived at the time, 14:56 when we can do just about anything. 14:59 I mean the world 15:00 is electronically stitched together. 15:03 We can create pretty much anything we desire, 15:07 but I say today there is still one thing 15:08 that we are not able to do, thus we look at the life 15:12 of a young simple man by the name of Gideon, 15:15 and the Bible makes it very clear 15:18 that the Lord intended to lead his children 15:21 to the place of lasting success. 15:25 What I want you to know today is that 15:26 God does not intend to leave us where He finds us. 15:30 God always intends for His people 15:32 to have lasting success. 15:33 Can you say amen to that? 15:35 God finds us in the strangest places like 15:38 he found me in New York, and led me to Florida. 15:42 Found me again in Florida, 15:43 led me to California with my wife, 15:46 found us in California, led us to Missouri, 15:49 found us Missouri and God forbid 15:51 He led us to Thompsonville. 15:53 And I make a request to God, 15:55 I hope the next place I move is heaven. 15:56 What do you say? 15:58 But God finds the strangest of us 16:01 in the most unlikely places and turn our lives upside down, 16:05 thus is the story of Gideon. 16:08 God called Moses and Aaron, 16:11 to begin the journey, God called Joshua 16:14 to carry the journey the rest of the way, 16:17 but from the very beginning of the journey to the very end, 16:19 it was God all along. 16:22 It was God that freed 16:23 the children of Israel from Egypt. 16:25 It was God that kept them in the wilderness. 16:28 It was God that protected them 16:30 from the serpents and scorpions. 16:32 It was God that kept them through the cold nights. 16:37 It was God that kept them through the hot days. 16:40 And, brothers and sisters, whether you know it or not, 16:42 it's always about God. 16:43 Can you say amen? 16:45 As He was with them, He is with us today. 16:50 But when Moses was called to lay down his mantle, 16:52 God called the man by the name of Joshua 16:55 to carry the children of Israel into the Promised Land. 16:58 And they finally made it. 17:00 Not by their plans, 17:02 but as the songs says by God's plans. 17:06 And they were there abiding 17:07 in the land of Canaan for some seven years. 17:11 But the plan that God had for them 17:13 had not yet been completed 17:15 because Israel became satisfied and decided, hear me carefully 17:21 that the command of God was no longer necessary. 17:26 Judges 1:28 says it this way and I'm reading this text 17:30 from the New International version 17:31 because it makes it very clear. 17:34 "When Israel became strong, 17:38 they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor 17:42 but never drove them out completely." 17:47 Now, I've been following the Lord for a number of years 17:49 and I want you to know as many of you know that 17:52 following God is not easy, can I get a witness? 17:56 Following God's plan is not the easiest thing to do, 17:59 but I do believe with all my heart that 18:01 when the Lord says that He's come 18:02 that we might have life and have it more abundantly, 18:05 I'm convinced that life can only be abundant 18:10 if that life is lived by the plan of God. 18:14 I believe that God can do more than I can ever imagine, 18:18 if I simply trust the plan of God. 18:21 It was not God's plan for Israel 18:25 to inhabit Canaan with the Midianites, 18:28 and the Amalekites, and the Jebusites, 18:31 and the Hittites, but Israel success 18:35 and this is a dangerous point and I walk with God, 18:37 Israel success dismissed God's requirements. 18:41 I want to say today no matter how successful you get, 18:44 we should never get to the point 18:46 where our success dismisses God's requirements. 18:50 Israel became content and their contentment 18:55 with the Midianites, and the Amalekites, 18:57 and the Jebusites, and the Hittites 19:00 began to break down their resistance to evil 19:03 and just in a matter of time 19:05 the things that God never intended for them to desire, 19:09 became the very things that they desired 19:12 and they concluded that Midian they could stay with us, 19:16 the Amalekites can exist with us, 19:19 the Hittites can exist with us, 19:20 this land is large enough for everyone with brethren, 19:24 it is not God's intention for heaven 19:28 to be shared with God's enemies. 19:30 Can you say amen? 19:31 Well, I wanted you to get that, 19:33 I know you got that, but follow me carefully. 19:35 When I get to heaven I want heaven to be heaven, 19:37 what about you? 19:38 And heaven is going to be heaven 19:40 not because we are there, 19:42 but because God's enemies are not there. 19:45 When I get to heaven, I'm not gonna be looking 19:48 over my back, anybody else? 19:49 When I get to heaven, 19:50 I'm going to trust God day and night 19:51 and the doors of my house won't be locked, 19:55 the gates to the New Jerusalem won't be shut, 19:58 because heaven is heaven, 20:00 because God's enemies will not be there. 20:04 Thus was the desire for the children of Israel 20:07 in the land of Canaan. 20:09 God never intended for them to exist side by side 20:13 with those that will turn their affections away from God, 20:16 but they became content. 20:18 And Deuteronomy 11:22, 25 outlines God's plans for them, 20:23 "For the Lord says, 20:25 For if you carefully keep all these commandments 20:28 which I command you, 20:29 then the Lord will drive out 20:31 all these nations from before you, 20:35 and you will dispossess greater 20:37 and mightier nations than yourselves." 20:39 Now you know what, brethren, Israel had no weapons, 20:42 God is always our weapon, can you say amen? 20:45 Israel had no tanks, they had no jets, 20:48 they had no armament, but they had prayer, 20:51 they had the promises of God and today our weapon is prayer. 20:57 Amen. 20:58 But you missed an opportunity, 21:00 our weapon is prayer, our weapon is trusting God. 21:04 When the enemy comes in the Bible says like a flood, 21:07 God will lift up a standard against them, 21:10 and I said just to you today, 21:12 the best standard that can be lifted up 21:14 against the attack of the enemy 21:15 is the promises of the word of God. 21:17 Amen. 21:18 So God gave them a weapon, 21:20 when difficult times came they prayed. 21:23 And you know what? 21:24 I believe that Israel prayed more 21:25 when they were in their journey 21:27 then when they got to their destination, 21:29 but God continues. 21:30 He says not only will you dispossess greater 21:33 and mightier nations than yourself, 21:35 but this is amazing, 21:37 He says "Every place on which the sole 21:39 of your foot treads shall be yours." 21:42 Can you imagine if you got a fax from God 21:44 and He says wherever you walk Johnny, it's yours. 21:48 Did you get that? 21:49 Wherever your feet touch God will give it to you. 21:52 God promised there were ever the feet 21:56 of the children of Israel would step, 21:58 God will give it to them and then He says 22:01 "No man shall be able to stand against you." 22:05 Praise God for that. 22:06 When God is on our side, 22:08 no matter who stands against you, 22:10 God has always the majority. 22:12 When we stand with God, we need not fear men 22:15 because God's promises are true, 22:18 but Israel chose to do it their way. 22:21 So they abandoned God's way. 22:24 God called them to battle but they chose ease instead. 22:29 Brethren, whether we realize it or not, 22:31 we are in greater danger after a battle 22:35 than we are during a battle. 22:38 We are in greater danger 22:39 after we lay down our weapons of prayer 22:42 than we are during times of prayer 22:44 that's why God knows 22:46 it's good sometimes for the people of God 22:49 to go through trails, can you say amen? 22:51 My wife and I look back at our trails 22:53 and we realize that we were close to God 22:56 during our trails than we were when the trails passed. 23:00 When Israel stop fighting in prayer, 23:03 they started failing and thus we read 23:05 the commentary in Judges 6:1. 23:09 Bible says, "And the children of Israel 23:13 did evil in the sight of the Lord. 23:15 So the Lord delivered them 23:18 into the hand of Midian for seven years. 23:21 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. 23:24 Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel 23:27 made for themselves the dens, and caves, 23:30 and the strongholds which are in the mountains." 23:33 Israel had enemies on every side. 23:38 You ever feel like that? 23:40 You don't have to respond to me. 23:42 You could just shake your head, 23:43 yeah, I feel like that sometimes. 23:45 Sometimes that feels like we've got enemies on every side 23:48 but, brethren, it is not the enemies around us, 23:52 but the God who stands with us, 23:53 that's our faith and our courage. 23:56 Midian did everything to irritate Israel. 23:59 Midian tried their best to stamp Israel out. 24:03 Midian would destroy everything that Israel would plant. 24:07 They would come and steal their livestock 24:09 and everything that Israel build 24:11 they would break it down, 24:13 and the reason why they did not experience, 24:16 the reason why the people of God did not experience 24:19 the magnitude of God's blessings 24:22 is because they did not go all the way. 24:27 I believe that if we go all the way with Jesus, 24:30 the blessings would be powerful, 24:31 can you say amen? 24:33 If you stop short like an Olympian 24:35 running a 100 yard dash, 24:37 one stride away from the gold medal he stops, 24:41 and never knows was it's like to win. 24:43 Brothers and sisters, 24:44 we are at the hour that we got to keep on running. 24:46 What do you say? 24:48 God brought them out of Egypt, from slavery, 24:51 God kept them safe and provided their needs. 24:54 God promised them victory 24:57 over all the inhabitants of Canaan 24:59 and today God promises us the same thing. 25:03 Whatever your trail, you can find victory in Christ. 25:05 Whatever the obstacle, 25:06 you can overcome it in Christ, amen. 25:09 He promised them the same thing He promises us today, 25:12 but the commentary is clear, look at verse 10 of Judges 6. 25:17 "Also I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God, 25:22 do not fear the gods of the Amorites, 25:24 in whose land you dwell.' 25:26 '' But here is the commentary, 25:28 "But you have not obeyed My voice." 25:31 The brethren, He is the first miracle. 25:36 God is faithful all the time. Amen. 25:42 The first miracle is God is faithful all the time 25:47 and at times even though we may not know where God is, 25:51 God always knows where we are? 25:53 What do you say? 25:54 You see brethren, at one of Israel's lowest points, 25:57 God was preparing them 25:59 for one of their highest successes 26:02 and God is not an on time God, somebody used to says 26:05 God is never late, He is always on time. 26:08 Let me change that, 26:09 God is not on, on time God, God is a never absent God. 26:14 Did you get that? 26:15 He doesn't show up, He never leaves. 26:18 He never leaves us, He never forsakes us 26:21 because we don't see God, 26:23 do not assume that God is not there. 26:26 And God shows up in Gideon's life 26:29 at one of the strangest and most ridiculous times 26:33 that he would want God to find him. 26:35 Look at verse 11. 26:38 Sometimes we get all on our trails 26:40 and our tribulations and we do ridiculous things. 26:42 Gideon knows what we're all about. 26:45 "Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat 26:47 under the terebinth tree," that's the oak tree 26:50 "which was in Ophrah, 26:52 which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, 26:56 while the son of Gideon 26:58 threshed wheat in the winepress, 27:00 in order to hide it from the Midianites." 27:04 You got to get the picture here. 27:08 I looked, and then I thought to myself, how ridiculous. 27:10 You know, sometimes 27:12 we are so fearful of our enemies, 27:14 we decide to try to hide from our enemies 27:16 and think that God can't find us either. 27:21 That's why when difficulty comes 27:22 and people stay home, I know they're trying to hide 27:25 either from their enemies or from their fears. 27:28 So here is Gideon now in a winepress, 27:31 which is used to make grape juice, 27:34 but Gideon is so fearful of his enemies, 27:36 thinking that they gonna take away his wheat, 27:38 that Gideon puts wheat in the winepress 27:40 and-- you got to get this, 27:42 there is a wall around the winepress 27:43 and Gideon has his back bent 27:46 and he is in the winepress trampling out the wheat, 27:49 hoping the Midianites don't see that 27:50 because every time they see something 27:53 they take from the Israelites 27:54 what God intends to be a blessing to the Israelites. 27:58 So Gideon is hiding and all of a sudden 28:00 the Lord shows up. 28:04 Kind of like He does a lot of times in our home, 28:07 when we're having our own kitty party. 28:09 Aren't you glad that God shows up? 28:11 Because God wants to remind us as was the case with Israel, 28:15 you see the outlook for Israel was nothing 28:18 but rain in the forecast, 28:20 and the stock market for Israel was anything but stable, 28:23 however that God of Israel is anything 28:28 but unreliable, can you say amen? 28:30 So God shows up 28:31 and He chooses the most unlikely, Cheri. 28:34 He chooses the most unlikely to do the most unimaginable. 28:38 That's a good God. 28:40 He looks at those who think they had nothing to give 28:43 and proves that it is not your abilities 28:46 but God's abilities that makes the difference. 28:49 Amen. 28:51 God always sees in us the best, when we can't see anything. 28:55 Look at verse 12 and 13. 28:57 Gideon in the winepress having a conversation 29:01 with the angel of the Lord. 29:03 "And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, 29:05 and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, 29:07 you mighty man of valor!' 29:09 " He was not a mighty man of valor. 29:11 He was the weakling filled with fear. 29:13 Now, brethren, I'm so glad that 29:15 when we are weakling filled with fear, 29:17 God can call us a mighty man of valor. 29:19 Amen. 29:21 That's who you are in Christ, not in and of ourselves, 29:24 we are more than conquerors through Him 29:28 who loved us, amen. 29:31 So He comes and calls him a mighty man of valor. 29:33 And I must say, Gideon must have said 29:35 a mighty man of what? 29:40 I'm hiding out from the Midianites, 29:41 can't you see what they are doing? 29:42 A mighty man of valor me and God continues, 29:46 so "Gideon said to Him, 29:47 'O my lord, if the Lord is with us, 29:51 why then has all this happened to us? 29:54 And--" here is the statement 29:56 for the entire series "Where are all His miracles 30:03 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' 30:06 But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us 30:10 into the hands of the Midianites." 30:13 Brethren God never forsakes us, 30:17 but sometimes where we are 30:19 is a direct result of the choices we've made. 30:24 Not what God imposes on us but the choices we make. 30:28 So God calls Gideon to challenge Him. 30:30 God calls Gideon to do something, 30:32 while Gideon is busy doing something else. 30:34 I like that God always calls busy folk. 30:37 Some of the most productive individuals are busy people, 30:40 busy doing the Father's will and God gives them more to do. 30:43 So God calls Gideon 30:44 and look what He says in verse 15. 30:47 God says you gonna save Israel, but Gideon comes back, 30:50 "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? 30:54 Indeed my clan or my group is the weakest in Manasseh, 30:59 and I am the least in my father's house." 31:04 God accomplishes the most, hear me carefully. 31:08 God accomplishes the most when we realize 31:13 that we have the least to offer Him. 31:17 When our cups are almost empty, 31:19 then God can fill it up with His Holy Spirit, amen. 31:23 God does not have short arms. 31:27 And God's ears are not filled with wax, Isaiah 59:1. 31:32 So God can reach farther down than we can ever imagine, 31:36 God reaches down to the gutter most 31:38 and saves us to the uttermost, amen. 31:40 So God looks at this unimaginable, 31:43 unqualified, unproductive, can I say it? 31:48 A peon of society and now comes 31:52 and to turn his life upside down. 31:54 But before God calls us to do great things, 31:57 God often calls us, to remove from our lives 32:02 the things that rob God of His true worship. 32:07 Before God calls us to greatness, 32:09 God first calls us to stand firm 32:12 in the face of opposition. 32:16 Before God uses us for anything great, 32:18 sometimes, God calls us to put Him to the test, 32:23 which brings us to miracle number two. 32:26 God is not only faithful on the time, 32:28 all the time, God is reliable all the time, amen. 32:32 You know, brethren, 32:34 there are lot of people that are filled with fear 32:35 but I say to this, feed your faith 32:38 and your fear will starve to death. 32:43 Amen. We fear men so much. 32:46 We fear circumstances so much because we trust God so little. 32:52 I mean, how could you not trust somebody 32:53 who can make worlds. 32:56 I'm not talking about your bank account. 32:57 Your bank account is no problem for God, amen. 32:59 Your health is no challenge for God. 33:01 God took a break from making worlds 33:05 and came down here to hang out with us 33:08 for three and half years, amen. 33:09 Amen. 33:11 So if somebody can make a world 33:12 can God deal with our little itty-bitty everyday problems. 33:15 Yes, He can. 33:18 Gideon was about to find out, 33:21 but Gideon not knowing whether God was serious yet, 33:24 ask God for a sign, 33:26 it's all right to ask God for a sign, 33:27 as long as that sign is not self serving, 33:30 so God, allowed Gideon to put out the fleece. 33:33 You know the story. 33:35 He said Lord make the floor dry 33:36 and the fleece wet, and God did. 33:38 But then he said, Lord, 33:39 make the fleece dry and the floor wet. 33:41 Now, let me say something. 33:42 If God can build the worlds, 33:44 can He not make the floor dry and the fleece wet? 33:46 And the fleece wet and the floor dry? 33:48 Amen. 33:50 This was not Gideon testing God, 33:53 this was Gideon trying to figure out 33:55 whether God really wanted to use him. 33:58 God, are you serious about using me? 34:00 I don't have any qualification, 34:01 I'm uneducated, I don't know how to preach, 34:03 how to sing, how to do anything? 34:05 But if you follow the scriptures, 34:06 you'll discover that God chooses people 34:08 who know they can't do something. 34:10 Yes. Amen. 34:11 Because then God can do something. 34:13 Moses needed Aaron to speak for him, 34:15 until he found courage to speak for himself. 34:19 Jeremiah was fearful of the people, 34:20 God said don't worry about the people 34:22 I make your heart, your head hard. 34:24 Isaiah, the Lord who am I? 34:28 Peter, a man of profane lips. 34:32 Isaiah, a man of unclean lips, 34:34 God reaches down and he finds the best of us 34:37 among the worst of us. 34:40 So here he is. 34:42 I believe the reason why there are not 34:43 more blessed people is because they are not willing 34:46 to step up to God's challenge. 34:48 You know, when God says prove in-- 34:50 prove me now here if God is serious. 34:53 Prove me now here what the Lord says, 34:55 if I will not open to you, the windows of heaven, 35:00 the windows of what? 35:01 Have you ever seen heaven's windows? 35:03 I suspect you, they are bigger than ours, amen. 35:06 And he says and pour you out such a blessing 35:10 that there shall not be room 35:11 enough to receive of the brethren, 35:14 God does not just open up windows 35:16 and pour blessings out. 35:17 Sometimes, God makes us a window 35:22 and pours blessing through us. 35:25 Don't look for the window, sometimes you are the window. 35:29 God was about to make Gideon a window. 35:33 So here's what the situation was? 35:35 Gideon got all excited 35:37 ran back to the camp of Israel and said, 35:39 let's get our army together and he's mustered up 32,000 men 35:43 and just as he's all excited, 35:45 the first thing that God says is, Gideon, 35:49 the people you have are too many. 35:53 I mean, Lord, have you seen 35:54 the Amalekites and the Jebusites 35:56 and the Hittites and the Amorites, 35:57 they are like the sands of the sea 35:59 and Lord 32,000 is too much? 36:01 Gideon, you got too many. Surprise number one. 36:05 Sometimes God ask us to give Him what we have 36:09 so that He can give us what we don't have. 36:14 Faith, God doesn't need numbers, 36:17 He needs faith, He needs people that trust Him, 36:20 He needs people that knows 36:22 if God just call Gideon to go out and fight, 36:25 you know what, if you swung a sword, 36:27 if you had an Eveready energize 36:30 a bunny battery in your back, 36:32 you couldn't swing a sword fast enough 36:34 to kill of a million men. 36:37 It's in times like that, 36:39 that God fights your battles for you. 36:43 So God makes it clear, surprise number one, 36:46 very plain Judges 7:3. 36:49 I'm gonna narrow it down into vernacular of today. 36:53 Gideon says to the people, if you're afraid go home. 36:57 Now I don't think Gideon expected 36:58 22,000 men to leave, but they did. 37:02 And he said, Lord, there's only 20, 37:06 22,000 men left, it's only 10,000 left. 37:09 What are we going to do now? 37:12 How do you expect us to win with just 10,000 men? 37:17 God says I don't, you still have too many. 37:22 So he says, narrow it down, the people are still too many? 37:25 And you want a definition for miracle, 37:27 you may want to write this down, 37:28 if you haven't recorded, press this, 37:30 this is really what I feel the definition of a miracle is. 37:34 God does not do for us, what will be credited to us? 37:41 That's a miracle. You can't get the credit. 37:44 If your bank account is broken, all your friends have left 37:46 and there's money in your bank, 37:47 they didn't do it, God did it, amen. 37:50 God does not do for us, what will be credited to us. 37:55 And, brethren, even though sometimes 37:57 it's hard to believe God, you will discover 38:00 it's even harder not to believe God. 38:04 And all of a sudden the inevitable happens. 38:07 Gideon ends up, got to get, 38:09 Gideon ends up where God knew 38:12 that he would have to be for God to do God's thing. 38:17 Not 32,000, not 22,000, 38:20 not 10,000 but 300 motley crewmen 38:25 God was going to deliver Israel. 38:27 Now, brethren, I don't know about you 38:29 but I'll be-- I'll be concerned 38:30 if we sent our church to Iraq to win the war. 38:34 Amen. 38:38 President Bush have got a plan. 38:40 Well, what is that, John Lomacang? 38:43 Our church would like to volunteer 38:45 to go to the Middle East and find Osama Bin Laden 38:47 and settle this thing. 38:50 Go right ahead. 38:52 Do you need some weapons? No, we've got them all. 38:54 Where are they? 38:55 It's prayer. Amen. 38:59 You see this is the reality of the situation. 39:00 God was sending them not with the armory of men, 39:04 but with the power of the Almighty God. 39:06 Amen. 39:09 So sometimes when we are, where we are? 39:12 We wonder how we got there, but I want to say this. 39:15 When we get to the place 39:17 where it looks like God has broken us down, 39:20 we are finally at the place where God can build us up. 39:25 God's got to break some of us down to build us up 39:27 because you know why? 39:28 In this age there are too many self made men. 39:33 Men that don't trust God. 39:35 Men that have all these letters 39:36 before their name and after their name. 39:38 Some people, the letters they have 39:39 before their name are longer than their name. 39:43 So God sometimes pick people that only know to fish 39:47 or build houses or curse at each other. 39:53 And he fills them with His spirit 39:54 and turns the world upside down, amen. 39:57 And so Gideon ask the Lord, verse 7 of Judges 7, 40:01 "Then the Lord said to Gideon, 'By the three hundred men 40:04 that lapped up the water I will save you, 40:06 and deliver the Midianites into your hand. 40:08 Let all the other people go, every one to his place.' 40:12 "How do you think Gideon felt? 40:16 I mean, brethren, I don't know about you, 40:17 but I'd feel really badly because Gideon is standing 40:20 on a mountainside looking down 40:22 into the camp of the Midians and the Bible says in verse 12, 40:26 "The Midianites and Amalekites, and all the people of the East, 40:30 were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts, 40:35 and all their camels were without number, 40:37 as the sand by the seashore in multitude." 40:41 How do you think he felt? 40:45 There are sometimes when you question 40:46 whether or not God has lost His mind. 40:48 Amen. 40:49 I'm saying that sacredly because God doesn't called us 40:54 to a reasonable relationship we can explain everything, 40:58 when you can explain it, it's all about God. 41:01 So there he is standing and I want to say to you today, 41:03 one of the greatest hindrances to God's blessings. 41:06 Hear me carefully is how we feel? 41:12 How we feel? 41:14 You know, the sin of this age is we rely on 41:18 and we protect our feelings more than we rely on our faith. 41:24 My feelings got hurt. Oh, well, I feel bad for you. 41:28 Gideon's feelings got hurt too, 41:30 but God does not work with us based on our feeling, 41:34 He calls us to trust Him by faith, amen. 41:38 Feelings are unreliable. 41:40 If Gideon acted out on how he felt, 41:42 he would have gone home too. 41:44 He said, Lord, I know that there is some problem here. 41:46 You made a serious mistake, 41:48 so I'm gonna take my 300 men and go back home with them. 41:52 But he had enough sense to trust God 41:54 and not to deal with God on how he felt. 41:58 That's why, brethren, 42:00 when you look down at your situation 42:02 rather than look up at the Savior, 42:04 your feelings will attack your faith. 42:09 Don't look at your situations, look at the Lord. 42:12 Don't look at the problem, look at the Lord. 42:13 He's looking down into the valley, 42:15 when God says-- as David said, 42:17 I will lift up my eyes on to the hill 42:19 from whence comes my-- don't look down, look up. 42:23 Are you a buzzard or an eagle? 42:26 I'm an eagle, anybody else? 42:27 Amen. By God's grace. 42:30 So there he is, 42:33 Gideon now has less than 1% of his initial army with him. 42:39 But he has the entire host of heaven with him. 42:41 Amen. 42:43 So don't look at the numbers, don't look at what you can see, 42:47 we walk by faith not by sight. 42:51 Miracle number three, God is not a percentage God. 42:57 God is totally God. 43:02 God doesn't become a God better on the weekend 43:04 than He is at other times, 43:07 God is always the same come on when? 43:10 Yesterday, today and forever. 43:15 So here they are, Gideon all the sudden realizes 43:20 that it's not his content but is God's intent 43:25 that makes the difference in this situation. 43:26 Not what he can do, but what God can do. 43:29 God broke him down, so here he is with his 300 men 43:32 and God says, now line them up, 43:34 a 100 on that side, a 100 on that side, 43:40 a 100 on that side and leave the other side open 43:44 because the Midianites are gonna need that to escape. 43:51 Don't close them in, 43:52 they got to figure out where to run. 43:55 See, God doesn't surround your enemies completely 43:58 because He's got to give them some place to run, amen. 44:04 So Gideon, I'm sure they ask, you have any bullets? 44:08 No, we don't need any bullets, 44:09 we just gonna carry the empty guns. 44:13 Where are the tanks, Gideon? 44:15 We left them home today, God is with us. 44:19 So how we gonna fight? We gonna pray. 44:24 So he goes out and I'm sure 44:26 it must have been a cold day, you know why? 44:28 Because every time you have to battle against the enemy, 44:31 it just happens to be a cold day. 44:34 It just happens to be raining, 44:35 the sky just seem to swallow up the sun. 44:38 There he is standing on this battle plane 44:41 with a battle plan 44:42 and only 300 men surround the enemy. 44:46 And so God gives Gideon the command 44:50 and He says now here's what we gonna do. 44:55 We've got a trumpet, 44:57 we've got an empty pitcher and we've got a torch. 45:01 You see, brothers and sisters, God uses simple things 45:08 to accomplish spectacular victories. 45:13 I did research and I found out 45:14 what kind of pitcher did they have? 45:15 You know what God told them to take? 45:17 He said go into your kitchen and find any pot 45:19 and pan that you can find, it was made out of pottery. 45:22 If that's your soup bowl, bring your soup bowl, 45:25 bring your favorite dish that you cook in, 45:27 bring your favorite salad bowl 45:29 and carry it with you to the field, 45:30 and here they are, you got to see this, 45:32 they got a torch to find their way, 45:35 they've got a trumpet, they don't know what yet for? 45:38 And they got their favorite soup dish 45:39 made out of pottery 45:41 and they are carrying that to the battlefield. 45:44 And they get to the battlefield, 45:46 and Gideon says, okay, I will tell you what? 45:48 When I blow the trumpets, you break your pitchers. 45:55 And they're thinking to themselves 45:57 are these pitchers made of C4 explosives 46:00 or something that we don't know about? 46:02 Is there something in these pitchers 46:03 that you haven't told us about? 46:05 No, that's just a regular soup bowl that you eat from. 46:07 When I blow the trumpet just-- just get really angry 46:10 and just slam that pitchers to ground, all right. 46:13 And I can see them looking at each other. 46:14 Well, Gideon, I don't know if he-- 46:15 I don't know if he really did hear from God? 46:17 Is this some kind of plan of suicide? 46:19 So they're standing there by faith, trusting God. 46:24 And the trumpet blows and the record is clear, 46:27 verse 20 and 21, 46:30 "Then the three companies blew the trumpets 46:35 and broke the pitchers, 46:38 they held the torches in their left hands 46:42 and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, 46:46 and they cried," say it with me church 46:49 "'The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!' 46:53 And every man stood in his place 46:55 all around the camp, 46:58 and the whole army ran and cried out and fled." 47:03 Can somebody say, amen? 47:05 This was not a revisit, God wins the first time around. 47:08 Amen. 47:10 God didn't have to say Gideon, 47:11 you didn't do it right, you didn't do it right, 47:13 just let's go back and try it again. 47:16 When God puts a plan together, it works the first time. 47:22 And it doesn't make sense, 47:24 you know, that's true, didn't make sense. 47:26 Sometimes God ask us to do things 47:28 that don't make sense. 47:30 But that's the difference between humanity and divinity. 47:32 Divinity doesn't have to make sense. 47:34 I mean how can you make 47:35 sense out of calling animals into existence? 47:39 When I get to heaven, I'm gonna say God 47:41 how did You-- how did You do that? 47:44 He spake and it was done. 47:46 All God has to do for success to be our experience is speak 47:52 and we believe it and it's done. 47:53 Amen. 47:54 But, brethren, this is a story of great miracles, 47:57 you know, how it ended? 47:58 They won the battle and then further 48:01 down in the story you discover 48:03 that all those men that were not part of the army 48:06 when the Midianites began to escape, 48:08 all those men that were fearful, 48:11 now joined the 300 faithful men 48:14 and made sure that finally they will do what God said. 48:19 You see brethren, I believe that 48:20 when the minority begins 48:23 and sees in their lives the power of God moving, 48:27 the majority cannot help, 48:29 but join with those who knows how to trust God. 48:33 So never wait for the multitude, 48:34 start where you are. 48:36 If it's one, start with one. If it's two, start with two. 48:38 And all those who see the success of God in your life 48:41 will want to have the same experience. 48:44 Amen. 48:45 So what's the story all about? 48:47 You see, Gideon, this is where we all come in. 48:52 Gideon held no offence, 48:57 Gideon was not a priest, Gideon was not a king, 49:04 Gideon was not a ruler, he wasn't even a Levite, 49:08 he wasn't even an army commander, 49:12 Gideon had no special talent. 49:17 Gideon had no visible gift. 49:24 God chose the least of the least. 49:31 You missed the chance to say amen, 49:33 because I know that's how I got here. 49:37 I said to somebody, 49:38 you know, how I know the Lord is coming soon? 49:39 Because even now I'm preaching. 49:42 When God's got to reach that far down brethren, 49:46 when God's got to reach that far down 49:48 to use those who have apparently nothing 49:51 and make them and create them for His glory, 49:54 you know, that God is doing what only God can do. 49:57 God picked the least. 50:00 And you know why God chose Gideon? 50:02 God chose Gideon, Kim, 50:05 because Gideon would not have even chosen Gideon. 50:10 God chose Gideon because Gideon 50:12 would not have chosen Gideon. 50:15 And my favorite writer outside of the Bible writers, 50:17 Ellen White says in Patriarchs and Prophets, 50:20 page 553, 50:23 "The Lord can work most effectively 50:27 through those who are most sensible 50:30 to their own insufficiencies, 50:34 and who will rely upon Him as their leader 50:37 and their source of strength. 50:38 Amen. 50:40 He will make them-- I like this strong 50:43 by uniting their weakness to His might, 50:47 and He will them wise by connecting 50:50 their ignorance with His wisdom." 50:52 God chose a man who had nothing, 50:56 and brought about success for Israel. 50:58 So as I close my brethren, it's really clear. 51:01 You see when we realize that we are not all that, 51:05 then we'll realize that God is all that, amen. 51:08 When we understand that we are not able, 51:10 we will discover that God is able. 51:12 When we conclude that we can't do it, 51:16 we'll see that God can do it. 51:17 I know what that's like, you know what that's like? 51:21 When we decide that we are not qualified, 51:26 God qualifies us. 51:29 I don't need a doctorate degree, 51:31 I just need a BA born again. 51:33 Amen. Amen. 51:34 That's all I have, a BA, I got a BA from J.C. 51:43 Jesus Christ cause me to be born again. 51:48 When I get to heaven, 51:49 I'm not getting there on my merits but His merits. 51:54 The last miracle is this. 51:57 And I know, you know, I know you gonna get it 51:58 'cause you guys are very sharp. 52:00 But for those who are not gonna get it, 52:02 let me just say it this way. 52:04 God can make diamonds out of coal. 52:09 Amen. 52:12 A coal is one of the softest things 52:14 until God gets a hold of it and it becomes tough. 52:18 Did you hear what I said? 52:19 Everything bounces off of it now. 52:21 It is so strong after God puts it under pressure 52:24 that it becomes the standard by which glass is examined. 52:29 Brethren, you may good but if you not a diamond, 52:31 you are just a coal that needs to be under pressure. 52:35 The miracle of this story is not what God did. 52:41 The miracle of this story is through whom God did it, 52:47 the most unlikely of men. 52:50 You see, brethren, 52:52 an upright man can never be a downright failure. 52:58 In the hands of God, we are all His miracles. 53:03 I discover that's all I'm, a miracle. 53:06 So the question that we ask 53:08 in the beginning beg for an answer. 53:12 Where are all His miracles? 53:14 They are sitting right here today. 53:15 Amen. 53:17 They are watching this program by satellite or by television. 53:21 They are listening to this message somewhere. 53:24 Where are all His miracles? 53:26 It's not what God wants do on the outside, 53:29 but is what God wants to do on the inside. 53:32 The Psalm writer really nailed it down 53:34 when he said, it took a miracle 53:38 hang the stars in space. 53:42 It took a miracle to set the worlds in place. 53:46 But, brethren, He is a real miracle. 53:48 When He saved my soul and your soul, 53:51 and my carcass and your carcass, 53:53 come on and say amen. 53:55 When God got our back 53:57 that took a miracle of love and grace. 54:00 I don't need a miracle, I'm a miracle. 54:02 Come on say amen. All the miracles say amen. 54:05 God doesn't want to do things for us only, 54:09 He wants to do things in us, and through us. 54:13 So my name for all intends and purposes could be Gideon, 54:16 the least of the least 54:19 qualified by the best of the best. 54:22 Where are all His miracles? 54:24 Is where ever you are, when God is in your life? 54:28 I want to pray today 54:29 that there's somebody watching this program 54:30 they thinks that God can't do anything through them, 54:32 O, brethren, you don't forget 4 o'clock come back 54:34 and you'll see what God can do. 54:36 God can do anything through anybody. 54:39 And always retain the glory for Himself. 54:43 I want to pray right now because somebody needs miracle, 54:46 its' not money, it's not a job, it's not a car, 54:49 it's not a house, it's a change life. 54:52 When you've got that miracle, 54:54 everything else will come in God's time 54:56 and in Gods' way. 54:57 Let us pray. 54:59 Our gracious, Father, in heaven, 55:00 we are so thankful that today, 55:04 today You are still a miracle working God, 55:11 You go into the hovels, into the closets, 55:15 you go down the putrefying streets 55:17 of the cities of our world, 55:20 you go to the hovels and the hotels, 55:23 you got to the houses of ill repute to the clubs, 55:27 you go to the broken homes, you go to the prisons, 55:31 you go to the transients on the street 55:33 to the men and women who feels their lives 55:36 have amounted to absolutely nothing 55:37 and you reach down, Lord, 55:39 and you turn that peace of coal into a diamond. 55:43 Father today there's somebody that needs to know 55:47 that the God who reigns on high 55:50 has not diminished His power to save and change lives. 55:54 So today, heavenly Father, we pray that through us, 55:58 the world will see another Gideon, 56:00 simply one who trust God, 56:02 simply one who takes God at His word, 56:04 simply one who says God can do it 56:06 because He said He can and I believe Him, 56:10 and I want to put my life in His hand 56:12 and I want to be changed by His grace. 56:14 So change us heavenly Father, 56:16 and may You and You alone receive the honor 56:19 and the power and the glory, in Jesus' name we pray 56:23 and all of God's miracle said, amen. 56:27 And amen. Friends, may God bless you. 56:31 God is still in the business of taking us 56:33 from where we are to where He wants us to be. 56:37 If there's somebody that don't know about 56:38 that miracle working power of God. 56:41 We want to challenge you to get on your knees 56:43 and pray and ask the Lord. 56:44 See Father begin to transform my life, 56:47 begin to change me, begin to make me 56:49 all that You intended for me who would be 56:52 and Father give me enough faith 56:54 not to do it my way, but to do it your way. 56:57 Friends, instead of asking the question the answer is yes. 57:01 You can be God's miracle. |
Revised 2015-03-12